1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to performing shutdown operations within an operating system, and particularly to the utilization of information from a target device to assist in shutdown operations within an operating system.
2. Description of Background
Before our invention, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1, an operating system 100 that was configured to utilize a small computer system interface (SCSI) initiator 115 communicated via a SCSI bus 125 to a SCSI target 120 of a target controller 105. In certain instances the target controller was required to go offline, for example: in response to a device operator command, the main power to the device being lost, or the detection of a condition wherein data integrity could be compromised in the event of an additional operational error. In the event that the target controller went offline without the initiator operating system being safely shut down, results of the shutdown could have severe consequences. Potential damage from the shutdown could include the loss of data, in addition to the corruption of critical operating system data, in the instance that the target controller managed the system drive.
Thus, there exists a need for a methodology for performing the safe shutdown of an operating system in order to avoid the potential loss and corruption of vital system data.